


Mission Mistletoe

by Kai_Smol_Trashlord



Series: Switched and Survival [2]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Blind!Matt, Christmas, Climbing Class, Climbing Class is bae, Josh sleeps around a bit, M/M, Matt is blind, Mistletoe, No frick frack here, Switched Roles AU, mistletoe kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 13:11:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5418341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kai_Smol_Trashlord/pseuds/Kai_Smol_Trashlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten months have passed since Ashley's prank. Since the Wendigos. It's Christmas and Chris is alone. Josh has been sleeping around since the incident on the mountain and Chris knows he's moved on. He's tried to move on too but he just can't.  </p><p>But maybe Josh hasn't moved on at all...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mission Mistletoe

Chris sighed in defeat as he watched Josh walk off with a random girl yet again. How many times had he watched the brunet walk away with some blonde over the past ten months? He'd lost count by now. It wasn't so bad when they first got off the mountain because they were all in shock from the traumatic events of that night. But, as time went on, Josh became more withdrawn from everyone. He still kept in contact with everyone and would tag along when they all hung out together but he became more introverted around them as if he felt like he no longer belonged there. Chris understood that feeling, honestly, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt when he watched his best friend leave movie nights early or when he saw him chatting up girls whenever they all went out on the town for the night. They hadn't so much as touched or kissed since the night on the mountain and the blond was starting to lose hope that they'd ever be as close again. It was as if the eldest Washington had switched off whatever feelings he had and then moved onto his next conquest. Chris had tried to get into relationships with women and men since February but they'd never lasted more than a few weeks. He'd then tried to go through countless one night stands like Josh seemed to but it made him feel sick and disgusting so he stopped doing that pretty quickly. He wasn't going to become a slut just because of Joshua fucking Washington.

"Well, that's the last of the ceiling decorations. We just need to put the cotton snow in the window sills and then we'll be done!" Sam exclaimed with a great sense of accomplishment, drawing Chris' attention to her. She smiled brightly at him to which he placed a fake but very convincing grin on his face.

"The living room looks awesome!" he complimented but she just waved it off.

"It wouldn't look nearly as great as it does if you hadn't helped me out. Seriously, how did you even make them holly wreaths?" she replied and Chris merely blushed. He didn't want to admit that he'd gotten so bored and lonely that he now spent a lot of time looking up how to make things to occupy his time. He'd made so many intricate yet pointless items over the past few months that he'd started secretly selling them in order to make some money.

"Just trial and error, really," the blond lied. Lying was easy for him. He'd had to lie to everyone other than his psychiatrist over the past ten months. He was very good at lying now. Josh was the only one who seemed to be able to tell he was lying but the brunet would never question him on it. He would just leave it at that and wouldn't try to weasel the truth out of him which Chris was grateful for.

As Sam opened up a packet of cotton to stick in the windows, he tried not to think about what Josh could be doing with whoever that girl was. She'd been very pretty with silver-blonde hair styled into a bob and her horn-rimmed glasses. She was petite too and a very bubbly girl whose dimples were always on show because she was always smiling. She was the perfect match for Josh and complimented his personality. She had a lot more going for her than Chris did so why wouldn't the brunet go for her? His hair was dirty blonde and all over the place most days and his glasses were more on the wear and tear side of the spectrum. He was thinner than he used to be but not on purpose. He ate less so he'd lost weight both through the decrease in food intake and sleeping less. Her clothes always seemed to accentuate curves that weren't there and his clothes were loose but usually layered in the hopes that no-one would notice he was lighter than before. Nobody had said anything so far which he took as a good sign.

"Chris, Jess spoke softly as she touched his arm, "you need to talk to him. You can't go on like this. It's not doing your health any favours." The blond shrugged nonchalantly but inside he felt like he was slowly giving up on everything. His psychiatrist had told him that he would feel like this sometimes but that it wouldn't be all the time. Maybe if he found a job and started to live his life properly then he'd get better. It would be nice for him to be able to start living for himself again but he couldn't find it in himself to get the motivation to do it. He was tired but he couldn't sleep. He was hungry but he couldn't eat. He was alone but he couldn't handle too much company. What the hell was he supposed to do with his life?

"Seriously, Christopher, you two need to talk. You've been moping around for nearly a year now and we've tried out best but it's up to you to help yourself this time," Emily agreed. Sulking, he pouted and folded his arms over his chest.

"Why do girls always pick on me? Matt and Mike wouldn't bully me like this," he grumbled. Jess patted his shoulder with mock sincerity.

"It's because we love you and we want you to get your tiny ass into gear before we kick it into gear," she told him. He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled before ruffling his hair and moving to help Sam place the cotton in the right places.

He knew the girls were right but he wasn't sure how to go about talking to Josh about this. It was obvious that the brunet had moved on now so what would be the point in doing anything about it now? Things would be much simpler if he just didn't talk about it. He could just lie to Jess about speaking to Josh. He was good at lying, now. He'd had lots of practice.

***

"So, you and Leah, huh? You guys a thing now or what?" Mike asked Josh as he passed over the fairy lights. Josh cringed internally at the mention of his recent hook-up and gave one end of the string of lights to Matt, who held it carefully but tightly.

"It was just a one-time thing, yanno? It's good to get the blood pumping sometimes," he replied as if it were nothing. As if cheating on his emotions didn't make him feel like absolute shit inside. He knew that the blond had seen him going off with her yesterday and he felt guilty as hell but he couldn't handle a real relationship right now. He didn't want to be in a relationship when he couldn't even handle being out in public or being around his friends long enough to make himself count. This was probably the first time in months that he'd hung out with Matt and Mike properly.

"Dude, come on! You've gotta stop sleeping around like this if you still have feelings for Chris. It's not fair on either of you," Matt exclaimed, trying to be the voice of reason. The eldest Washington snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You think I like being a manwhore? I can't be with him right now. I don't know if I ever can be with him the way he wants me to be. He wants normality and I can't give him that," he explained. Uncomfortable silence fell between the three men as they continued hanging up the fairy lights in the kitchen. The area they were working on was the last part of the room that was going to have fairy lights. Admittedly, Josh admired Chris' idea to turn his own home into an indoors winter wonderland for Christmas. The girls and Chris had finished the living room yesterday and were working on the landing today which gave the brunet some alone time with Matt and Mike. Little hang outs like this he was okay with but he found it more difficult to cope when he was with the whole group. Especially since getting the news about Ashley…

Six months ago, Josh had received a phone call from the psychiatric hospital that he had been a resident of when he was younger. At first, he'd been confused. He hadn't been in contact with them for years so how could they have his mobile phone number? But then he'd been informed that Ashley had been admitted around a month and a half prior to the call after she was found in the mines. She'd been kept there ever since on her parents' request and she had finally improved enough to be able to have visitors. Josh had immediately dropped everything to go and see her because he felt so guilty about leaving her in the shed the way he did. He'd pretty much condemned her to her fate when he did that and he took full responsibility for it (Dr Hill told him that he shouldn't blame himself for that but he couldn't help it) so he took it upon himself to be the one to try and do whatever it took to make it up to her. She may have done something sick and twisted but she was ill. She was getting the help she needed now and that was all that mattered.

Josh had been surprised when Ashley had told him that she didn't blame him for what happened. She wasn't even angry with him. She was just happy that he came to see her and that he was safe and alive. They'd talked about everything that had happened since that night until the end of visiting hours and, since then, Josh had gone to visit her everyday. Strangely, he felt a sense of normality in doing that. He felt normal going to the psychiatric hospital to visit her everyday and her condition began to improve massively. The doctors were eager to release her in time for Christmas so the eldest Washington had been helping her research apartments that she could live in. They'd both settled for one near where Josh's home was and his parents had insisted that they pay her rent for her after everything she'd been through. They understood that she was going through something that Josh could have easily gone through if he hadn't found comfort in Chris so they wanted her to feel that she was still loved and cared for despite the fact that she'd played a cruel trick on everyone. She was being released later that day so he'd agreed to help put up decorations before going to pick her up. Nobody else knew that Ashley had been found or was being released. It was just Josh, his parents, and Ashley's family that knew and that was how it was staying until the redhead felt comfortable enough to tell everyone else.

The last of the lights were finally put up and Matt picked up his Probing Cane and turned roughly in the direction of where Josh was standing. Nobody knew how or why, but when Matt had been taken down to the mines by the Wendigo he'd become blind. The doctors had suggested that it was probably an underlying condition that had been brought on by the trauma of the events that had happened but Matt didn't remember what had gone on in those mines other than him falling and Jess finding him. He was still able to see but not well enough to be able to walk around without needing guidance which was why he had a Probing Cane. He had been offered a guide dog but he'd declined because of his dog allergy and he just didn't want one. Emily helped him out a lot and had even been allowed temporary leave from college until her boyfriend was able to fend for himself fully again.

"Chris doesn't date people anymore. Did you know that? He doesn't even have one night stands anymore. He just… doesn't care," the former linebacker informed Josh sadly. The brunet frowned. He didn't know that at all. He'd been curious as to why he hadn't seen Chris around anyone other than the group for a while now but he hadn't tried to look into it. Now that he knew, he felt guilty for shunning Chris the way he did.

"Just talk to him. He might open up about it and who knows? Maybe he'll come to an arrangement that'll suit you both. A friends with benefits sort of thing, maybe," Mike suggested. Josh shook his head though.

"It's a nice thought but… I can't," he choked out. The two men groaned and he sighed as he shoved his hands in his pocket. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out before opening up the text message he'd just received.

To: President Washington  
From: Ash Tree Ashley  
Message: I5m ready for you to come pick me up whenever you're ready :)

To: Ash Tree Ashley  
From: President Washington  
Message: Kk be there in 30mins x

The brunet pushed the phone back into his pocket and realised too late that Mike had been saying something to him. He didn't have time to ask him what, though, because he needed to go if he wanted to pick Ashley up on time. He bid the duo farewell before leaving, yelling his goodbyes to Chris as he walked out the door. He zipped up his parka as he walked then jumped into the driver seat of his car. 

Turning the key in the ignition, he didn't see Chris watching from the landing window. He also didn't see the longing stare he got as he drove away.

***

Ashley's apartment was looking much more homely after a week of helping her move all her stuff in. It was no longer bare and it looked more like a space that the redhead would want to live in which made Josh happier than he thought it would. He finally had his honorary sister back for good and it felt amazing. Sure, she wasn't fully recovered yet but he didn't expect her to heal that quickly. It was going to take time for her to get back to normal and he was willing to do whatever he could to help her ease back into a normal routine. She was very grateful for everything that he was doing for her and that meant the world to him. She was always trying to say thank you to the brunet for being there for him but he would just dismiss it because it was what a good friend was supposed to do for those they cared about.

"So," she said as they both watched TV together with some takeout, "have you talked to Chris yet?" Josh sighed and ran a hand through his hair. First Matt and Mike and now Ashley. Who else was going to bring this up?

"I'm not talking to him about my feelings. He deserves normality and I can't give him what he needs. Besides, I think he and Sam might be thing. They spend a lot of time together these days," he replied bluntly. He felt the redhead shift as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Puh-lease. Sam's about as straight as a circle," she snorted and the brunet giggled whilst taking a piece of her chicken salad. She slapped at his hand and he smiled.

"Look, I don't want to talk to him about it. He thinks I've moved on and he doesn't act like he wants anything to do with me anymore so why should I inconvenience him?" he tried. Ashley sat up and he gulped when her very intimidating glare settled on him. She definitely wasn't happy with what he'd just said.

"Joshua Washington. Since when has Chris not cared about you? He's been your best friend since third grade so don't tell me that he wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore. We both know what this is about and you know it," she huffed sternly. The eldest Washington nodded and put his food down on the coffee table. He wasn't even going to try and give any bullshit to Ashley because she'd see straight through him.

"It's funny, isn't it? I've watched a man get his head sliced off, I've seen my sister as a fucking Wendigo, I've seen you during your fits when you try and bite me or hurt me. Yet the thing that scares me the most is telling Chris I still care. Does that make me weird? I mean, those things terrify me but I'm more afraid of admitting to someone that I have feelings for them," he chuckled humourlessly. The redhead placed her hand over his soothingly as she ran her thumb back and forth absentmindedly.

"It's been ten months since you both talked about that sort of thing. It's natural to feel scared or nervous about it. You just need to find a way to tell him," she reasoned. He nodded and sighed as he hugged himself. Ashley moved to put her arms around him and he just buried his face in her shoulder as a way of reciprocating the embrace. He glanced at the photo on her mantelpiece of her, Josh and Chris all together with the brunet holding mistletoe over the blond's head with the latter trying to lean away from him whilst the redhead laughed happily. He smiled gently. That photo had been taken the Christmas before Hannah and Beth disappeared. Who would have known that this was where they'd be now?

"And then an idea struck him. Just looking at that picture had given him some inspiration and he jumped up. Ashley yelped as she fell face first into the cushion he'd just been sat on before sitting up with a pout.

"Oh my god, Ash, I've got it. I think I know a way to try and show him I still care about him. I might need some help though. Think you can assist me?" he questioned. He grinned as she sat up with excitement and clapped her hands.

"You bet I can. What do you need?"

***

Another Christmas Day alone again. Chris' parents had decided that they were going to go on holiday to Australia this Christmas and, once again, they hadn't thought to invite their son. He wasn't complaining but he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't a little disappointed by the fact that they weren't even considering inviting him along with them. That suited him just fine, though. He'd spent the morning opening the presents everyone had left under his tree and he'd called everyone on Skype to thank them. Sam had gotten him a white ceramic mug with King Of The Nerds written on it in dark blue (his favourite colour) and a matching t-shirt to go with it. He wore the shirt with pride and already had three drinks of cocoa from the mug. Jess had given him two pairs of skinny jeans (because she wanted him to show off his buns more) and two tickets to next year's Comicon. He couldn't believe that she'd gone out of her way to bag them for him and he'd offered to pay her back but she'd blatantly refused to accept any repayment from him. Emily and Matt's joint gift was a new laptop with some headphones he could use with it and they, like Jess, had refused to accept money off him to pay for it. He'd used the laptop to Skype everyone and he was very impressed with how much better it was than his old one. And then Mike's present was paper that was made especially for origami ("I know how much you love that sort of thing so I thought hey, let's get you the good quality shit") and $100 worth of vouchers to use in arts and crafts stores for anymore hobbies that he might take up. The only one he hadn't gotten a gift from was Josh and that had hurt a little but then he found out that nobody else had gotten gifts off him either and he'd felt saddened by that. Josh always gave presents at Christmas. Even last year, when he'd been told that the police were giving up the search for his sisters, he'd managed to buy everyone gifts. He wouldn't even answer his Skype calls either so Chris gave up. Maybe he'd be more up to talking to-

The ringing of the doorbell made the blond jump in his seat. He looked up from his laptop screen and frowned when he glanced at the clock. It was nearly 11:00 at night. Who would be at his door at this time of night? It couldn't have been any of his friends because they were all either at home or at each other's houses. He hadn't invited anyone over so he wasn't sure who would be ringing the doorbell. He carefully placed the laptop on the coffee table and stretched as he stood up, the fire warming his stomach. He pulled on one of the Christmas jumpers his parents had given him and opened the door. The blond froze when he saw who was standing on the doorstep.

"C'mon, bro, let me in! It's fucking cold out here and nobody likes cold buns," Josh joked, holding out a box of cinnamon buns. Chris moved aside silently as the brunet entered then closed the door. He noticed that the eldest Washington also had a large gift bag with him and he furrowed his brows. His heart beat in longing for the older man but he hid how he felt behind a mask of indifference as they both sat down on the sofa in front of the fire. Josh set the box of buns down before opening the bag and handing Chris a small silver parcel from inside it.

"Josh, what-" he started but was cut off by the brunet holding his hand up.

"Just open it, okay? Talk after you've seen it," he insisted. Chris sighed and tore the paper off the box. He clasped a hand over his mouth when he saw what it was. He had no idea what the right response was supposed to be so he just turned to his best friend in shock.

"Please tell me you didn't buy me a fucking car, Joshua!" he exclaimed. He watched as the older man smirked and leaned forward a little.

"That's only part of your present," he hummed. Confused, Chris tilted his head to the side. He was still feeling overwhelmed by the fact that Josh had bought him a car (a fucking car!) and he couldn't think of any other way the brunet could top this gift.

"What's the other part?" he asked. He watched as Josh winked and then blushed when he pulled some mistletoe out of the bag. The brunet held it above their heads and leaned in. Chris' heart rate sped up in his chest as he watched Josh lick his lips. He was waiting for the eldest Washington to laugh at him or tell him that he was joking but it didn't happen. They just sat there in silence for what seemed like forever.

And then Josh kissed him.

It wasn't a fiercely passionate or desperate kiss or a kiss filled with lust. It was slow and sensual as their lips moved in sync, Chris fisting a hand loosely in Josh's shirt to pull him closer. He placed the box on the coffee table so that he could bring Josh onto his lap, his free hand moving to cup the back of the brunet's neck. His tanned skin was warm against the blond's fingertips and he closed his eyes as his head tilted to find a better angle. Josh's lips were slightly moist and smooth against his own, yielding to his perfectly. Josh gently bit Chris' lower lip, eliciting a gasp and allowing his tongue to slide in. A warm, soft hand grasped Chris' thigh as the other man moved back to switch their positions so that it was the blond straddling the brunet's lap. A second hand ran up the younger man's other thigh before moving to his behind. It squeezed gently and Chris moaned into the kiss. He felt rather than heard the chuckle and Josh's tongue massaged his own slowly. The tip of his tongue tingled as he tried to place the taste on Josh's. It was something he couldn't recognise but it was familiar to him. He didn't have time to mull it over, though, because Josh broke the kiss.

They both panted as they leaned their foreheads against one another's and held each other close. Their breaths mingled as they stared into each other's eyes but it didn't last long. Josh began to kiss from the corner of Chris mouth to his jaw and then to his neck, the blond biting his lip to fight back the groan he wanted to let out. He tilted his head to the side and gasped when the brunet bit and sucked the skin like a man possessed.

"H-Holy shit," he whimpered as his hips jerked. His hands flew to Josh's hair and he tugged at the dark curls. The brunet whimpered against him then pulled away to look up at him with lust-filled eyes.

"I don't wanna sleep around anymore. I want you. I still care about you as much as I did ten months ago. Is that selfish of me?" he murmured. Chris smiled and, placing a chaste kiss on his lips, cupped his face with both hands.

"I've been waiting for ten fucking months for this to happen. I hated seeing you go off with random girls whenever we went out somewhere. I'd keep wishing that it was me you were dragging into the toilets or kissing against a wall. I wanted to storm after you and pull them away from you and tell them that you're mine. If youre selfish then I don't know what I am," he replied in a low tone. He smirked when he felt Josh shiver and bit his lip.

"I… there's something else, though," the eldest Washington sighed as Chris climbed off his lap. The blond ran a hand through his slightly floppy hair and rested his head against the back of the sofa as he folded his arms.

"You can tell me anything, bro. Take your time," he encouraged softly. The brunet nodded and hesitated before telling him.

"I can't have a relationship with you. Not as boyfriends. It's not me saying that I don't want you or that I feel repulsed by you. I just can't do a normal relationship right now. I don't feel ready for that but… I want us to be together. I really want us to have… something." Chris immediately understood then why Josh had been sleeping around. It wasn't because he was moving on or because he wanted to forget that they had something. He wasn't trying to get over the blond.

It was because he wasn't ready. 

After everything that had happened on the mountain, he wasn't surprised. Ashley's prank and almost dying had brought them together but, at the same time, it had also traumatised them in a way that would take a very long time to heal. Josh didn't want the pressure of having a committed relationship whilst trying to recover and that was understandable.

"Josh…" he sighed as he laced their fingers. The older man looked at him with a pained and conflicted expression.

"Yeah?" he mumbled. Chris kissed him softly then hugged him.

"We don't have to be boyfriends. We could just be friends with benefits or something if that would make you feel more comfortable. And then, whenever you're ready, we can talk about being together as a couple. We don't have to jump straight into a relationship if that's not what you want," he explained. He felt Josh shift and gazed up at him.

"You'd… be okay with that?" he murmured. Chris grinned, genuinely happy, and nodded.

"I don't want you to feel pressured or unhappy because you're not ready for something. We'll go at whatever pace you want us to," he assured him. Josh smiled and ran a hand through Chris' hair.

"I like the sound of that. Bros with benefits. Benefit bros. Beneficial Cumber-bros. Bros with a bronnection. Fuck bud-"

"Josh, I swear to god, I will hit you if you don't stop coming up with names for this," Chris groaned. Josh laughed and kissed him.

"Merry Christmas, Chris," he smiled.

"Merry Christmas, Josh."

The duo settled down and put Netflix on Chris' new laptop, cuddling as they watched Orange Is The New Black. They were happy and content and quiet as they held each other and Chris felt himself beginning to doze off in Josh's arms. He was almost asleep when…

"Mission Mistletoe was a success."

Chris sighed. Of all the things to call their hook-up, did he have to call it Mission Mistletoe?


End file.
